


Drifting Slowly

by appending_fic



Series: The Age of Mysteries (Ciphers) [9]
Category: Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, Lilo & Stitch (2002), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Dating, Domestic Fluff, Emotions, Family, Flirting, Interspecies Relationship(s), M/M, Ohana, Presents, Talking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-24
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-09-01 23:11:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8641957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/appending_fic/pseuds/appending_fic
Summary: After all the misery and misunderstandings, Jack and Aster are on the same page, exploring a new relationship. Between post-Easter breakfast and their attempts at a proper courting, it looks like they might have a real chance at happiness.





	1. Dawn

Aster woke slowly, gingerly. Normally, when he woke the day (week) after Easter, it was to the pains of having pushed himself to the limit, mentally and physically, for months. But this year…

There was soreness, yes, but also a vague memory of gentle hands rubbing his back, legs, shoulders before tugging him to bed. There had been insistence he carry water with him throughout the night, and as a result, his mouth felt less dry than it usually did when he woke. And given that a second pair of hands had been working alongside him for most of the season, he didn’t have to force himself back to consciousness. Instead he awoke naturally, feeling refreshed.

Correction, Aster thought as his nose twitched and the warm, earthy aroma of some sort of bread filled it. There was a rich sweetness to the smell, setting his stomach to growling, and Aster scrambled up to his feet with more energy and enthusiasm than he had in a thousand Easters.

Although his nose had already informed him of the fact, Aster managed a start of surprise when he arrived in his kitchen to find Jack bustling around with a bowl of fruit.

“Is this your new thing? Sneaking in to make me breakfast?”

Jack yelped and jumped, nearly spilling the bowl of cut fruit. “ _Warn_ a guy when you sneak up on him!”

Aster gave Jack a toothy grin he knew Jack knew was meant to be mischievous. “Not my fault your creator didn’t see fit to give you proper hearing.”

“At least mine didn’t tell me my butt’s a survival asset.”

“Hmph. You’re just jealous.”

Jack paused, set his bowl aside, and took a few steps closer to Aster, eyes dark and focused on Aster alone. And then his gaze darted down. “I’m not _jealous_ of that cottontail, Bunny.”

Holy _dooley_. Aster’s ears flattened against his head as his cheeks flushed. Jack’s lips quirked upward, because of _course_ he’d spent enough time around Aster to recognize what embarrassment looked like on a Pooka.

Aster swallowed once or twice, trying to find his voice. “Don’t get your hopes up, Snowflake. I’m still knackered.”

Jack’s smirk faded, and he offered Aster a gentler smile, eyes no longer dark with desire. “Sure thing, Cottontail. Sit yourself down and I’ll finish breakfast.”

But watching Jack rush around Aster’s kitchen to finish breakfast didn’t help. For one, Jack kept sneaking peeks in Aster’s direction, a common enough occurrence over the past six months or so, but a distracting one nonetheless. For another, Aster couldn’t exactly forget the heated look Jack had given him. They’d had a lovely date after returning from the Unknown, time mostly spent reacquainting to one another, but Jack had ended the evening with a chaste kiss and a promise to see Aster soon. And he had indeed returned, stopping by at least once a week to help care for the googies, paint, or make Aster dinner so he wouldn’t waste away (as if Aster hadn’t been taking care of himself perfectly adequately for eons). Jack had flirted with Aster, gently, enough to make it clear he was interested, but had told Aster, laughingly, at North’s Christmas party, that they had plenty of time to take it slowly. In deference to the season, though, they had kissed under the mistletoe.

Jack had kept his comments tame, but Aster had caught him staring once or twice - again, nothing so lustful as what Aster had just seen, but enough to keep Jack’s interest in the forefront of Aster’s mind.

The last problem was that watching Jack putter around his house doing chores did something to Aster. Not sexual, but seeing someone else wandering through Aster’s home like he owned it, acting as natural and comfortable in Aster’s space as Aster was, filled Aster’s chest with warmth. It made Aster want to grab onto Jack and never let go, or at least to keep him on a short enough leash to make this a common sight. It made him want to spend nights planning the week ahead. It made him want to drag Jack into his bedroom and make him _scream_.

It was a _little_ sexual, Aster admitted to himself. He refused to take the blame for it, though; Jack had a slender, wiry build, of the type Aster had always admired.

“Eat up!”

Aster jolted up, staring wide-eyed at Jack’s grinning face. Jack had prepared a stack of pancakes drizzled with spiced syrup, and a tossed fruit salad.

“You’re really busting a gut to impress me, aren’t you?”

Jack shrugged, still grinning as he sat down across from Aster. “I figure if I’m a good enough cook, you’ll ask me to stay.”

Aster snorted. “Thought you were courting me properly; instead you’re just being a larrikin.”

Jack slammed his hands onto the table, rattling the crockware a little. “I am _not_! I just-” He wilted, suddenly, when Aster looked at him; if he were a Pooka, his ears would have been all the way back. “I _like_ you, Bunny. It’s just hard to say, sometimes. It’s easier to clean and cook and keep you company, than to say it.”

“...I’m sorry, Jackie.”

Jack twitched, jerking his head around to stare at Aster. “What?”

“I’m a lonely old codger, mate, and I forget how to make nice, sometimes.” He ignored the snort from Jack because he was trying to apologize, not stove the galah’s head in. “I lo - appreciate everything you’ve done.”

“Thanks, Bunny.” Jack gave him a wide grin that sent a flare of warmth through Aster’s chest. “I...appreciate everything you’ve done, too.”

“What’re you _talking_ about? What’ve I done? I dropped you and ran into the middle of the woods rather than talk about my feelings! And before that, I spent...months being a useless clod while you nursed me back to health.”

Jack, who’d dropped his gaze down to the table, chuckled. “You did...so much more than that, Bunny. You talked to me. You _cared_ about me.”

Aster almost retorted that was _nothing_ , a _terrible_ reason to like someone. But he held his tongue.

Because to Jack, who’d been alone for hundreds of years, it _wasn’t_ nothing. It had been enough to stick around, to try to get to know Aster better. Aster swallowed nervously, his hotcakes suddenly dry in his throat.

“I...don’t know what to say.”

Jack laughed, glancing back up at Aster. “Is that all it takes to make you speechless?”

“Rack off,” Aster grumbled. But he couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he finished breakfast, and he caught Jack staring at him more than once.

Once Aster was finished eating, Jack swept up the plates to clean, although Aster joined him to dry. They worked in companionable silence for a few minutes before Jack cleared his throat.

“You said something about...courting?”

Aster snorted. “No worries - it’s a bit old-fashioned. Pooka used to show up at the house of someone they fancied and do - oh, chores, mostly. Cooking, cleaning.”

Jack wrinkled his nose. “I’m not a girl, Bunny.”

“What?” Aster ran the last few exchanges back through his head before he chuckled. “No, anybody’d do it - sheila, bloke, whatever. You’d show off how good you are at keeping house, or that you weren’t a slacker, at least. When I was growing up, though, people’d just puff themselves up, like being a showpony means you’re any good for more than a quick naughty.”

“Hm,” Jack replied. “I prefer doing both. Let you know I’d be handy around the house, _and_ a great lay.”

Aster didn’t sputter, but couldn’t keep his cheeks and neck from warming. “I wouldn’t expect anything else from a yobbo like you.”

“Now you, you pulled off both at once. Very efficient, I thought.”

“What?”

Jack grinned at Aster, toothy grin making Aster’s blush intensify. “Hulking out and beating the stuffing out of Pitch Black very neatly showed off your skills as a protector, _and_ gave me a good look at that hunky body of yours.”

“Stop it; I’m not a - a-”

“Not what? I let you win races because I like the _view_ , Bunny.”

Aster glanced back at Jack, who was smiling at the sink. He took a moment to take in the sight of the lithe form bent over the counter. Truth was he’d never put a lot of time thinking about how other people looked - there’d been few enough Pooka, or anyone else, that he’d wanted to. But now that he knew more about the motivations behind that omnipresent smile, Aster could spend a lot more time examining it - its subtleties, how it complemented the tempestuous blue of Jack’s eyes. And yes, now that Jack had brought people’s _rear ends_ into it-

“My eyes are up here, Bunny Rabbit.” Jack was grinning when Aster snapped his gaze up away from Jack’s...nether regions. “Nice to know I made an impact.”

“Rack off.”

“Anyway, it’s been a wonderful morning.” Jack handed the last dish to Aster. “But I got stuff to do, and since you seen mostly recovered from Easter-”

Jack leaned in and pressed a firm kiss against Aster’ muzzle.

And _grabbed his arse_.

Jack was airborne and out the door before Aster could react, which itself was mortifying. But...well. Aster brushed a paw across the spot Jack had kissed. The bloke had a key to the place, and he’d help nurse Aster back from the brink - well, back from death. Jack might be allowed some leeway with respect to Aster’s personal space.

More than a little, actually. A good housekeeper _and_ a good lay. He’d see about that.


	2. Chapter 2

“No.”

Jack raised up on his toes, grinning widely up at Aster. Aster was _sure_ Jack knew enough about Pooka to be aware how dicey it was letting one’s teeth show when smiling at them, but he was still giving Aster a toothy grin paired with unnerving, wild eyes.

“Please, Bunny? Aster? E? It’s a surprise, so I can’t just tell you where to go with your tunnels-”

“I’ve _seen_ the way you fly,” Aster snapped back, folding his arms. “No.”

“Oh, Bunny.” Jack’s wild grin faded to something gentler, his teeth finally disappearing from view. “I’m a _Guardian_. Aside from being able to kick twelve kinds of ass, I can treat children with the delicate touch they need. I have an A-plus safety record, I’ll have you know.”

“I’ve heard about at least one ankle-biter who lost teeth under your tender care.”

“All in the name of good fun and a visit from Tooth. Please?”

And then Jack did something unfair, letting his eyes widen an almost impossible degree, eyes darkening to something more brilliant than usual as they began to water.

“Oh, Frith, don’t give me that look. _Fine_. But don’t get use-Aieaaaahhaaaa!”

The literal moment Aster gave Jack leave, the _mongrel_ yanked Aster into the air and took off. Aster screamed until Jack gave a little upward burst and paused. Aster looked down, shakily, and found they were hovering over the Color River, still within cooee of his house.

“You didn’t close your eyes,” Jack chided.

“Close my _eyes_ while I’m being whipped through the air like a - a-”

“Bunny?” Jack’s voice was small, quiet. “I don’t have to fly if you’re...uncomfortable with it. I just wanted you to experience the Wind the same way I do.”

And Aster couldn’t let Jack down when he sounded like _that_.

“Nah, Jackie, she’ll be apples. I trust you.” Aster closed his eyes, but not before he caught sight of the full force of Jack’s grin, something joyful and precious.

When Jack started moving again, Aster could swear he was moving more gently. Still fast, mind, as the air around them went cool and earthy when Jack entered one of the tunnels. Once given leave to come and go as he pleased, Jack had taken to the tunnels like a - well, like a Pooka. He seemed to know them nearly as well as Aster, making worries about poor navigation the least of Aster’s problems.

But Jack had all but begged Aster to feel the Wind like he did, so Aster let his ears and fur and tail take in their movement. And yes, it was fast, and wild, but so was running flat-out as only a Pooka could. And Jack was right - for all Aster joked, Jack knew how to carry someone safely with the Wind. Jack might have been gentler with Aster than he’d be on his own, but he still followed the little eddies and whorls of the wind, something Aster might have derided as making him sick if he weren’t honestly trying to appreciate the things that brought joy to Jack’s life.

They burst into the open air, carried up by their momentum. They slowed after a moment, how high, Aster couldn’t say. For a single perfect second, they hung motionless in the air, among the scent of the sea and flowers. Then freefall began, and Aster began to scream again.

The wind caught and threw them sideways faster than they’d traveled through the tunnels. Aster kept screaming; when he heard Jack laughing, wild and joyful, however, he snapped his jaw shut quick. He didn’t need to let Jack know this was terrifying, not when Jack was enjoying himself.

Besides, Pooka were a space-faring race. It was easy to forget, having been poking around underground for yonks, but they’d once conquered the stars. Aster had traveled faster than this, in circumstances where a misstep would be a lot more dangerous than falling from whatever height Jack was at. And comparing this to that, riding with Jack was practically leisurely, and in the gentle warmth of wherever they were, the Wind ruffling Aster’s fur…

Well, it was a sight better than he’d ever thought.

“Can I open my eyes yet, Snowflake?”

“Oh, oh! Yeah, go ahead, Bunny!”

Aster opened his eyes, and it was gorgeous. They were flying low over the forests covering an island, a place bursting full of life. Warmth was pooled beneath the island, a volcano, which, yes, he saw rising up next to them. And a bright house built on the side of a hill, set atop with a dome that for a moment looked so familiar…

“Where are we?”

“You can’t tell?” Jack demanded. “I thought you could tell where you are by the - the flowers and trees and junk.”

Aster snorted. “I can tell we’re somewhere in the Pacific Rim, Jackie, but you’ve overestimated my general prowess.”

Jack laughed. “Fine. Since your bunny powers can’t figure it out for yourself, we’re in Kauai.” Jack dipped and slowed as they approached the house, before dropping lightly to the ground. He spun to face Aster, and some of his joy - it didn’t fade, not exactly - became shuttered. “How was the flight?”

“Ah, if North flew his sled a little more like that, I wouldn’t object. Much.”

“Really?” Grinning, almost hungrily, Jack darted close and kissed Aster, right on the mouth. He was out of reach almost as quick, but his smile was self-satisfied. He spun back around and began ambling toward the house. After a few steps he looked back over his shoulder.

“You coming, Bunny?”

Aster didn’t answer ‘always’, but only just. He did hop to it so he was walking even with Jack.

“So, what’s the big surprise? You never struck me as the tropical island type. You got a secret family around here?”

Jack chuckled. “Nah, nobody here’s related to me. But come on.”

Burning with curiosity, Aster followed Jack as he climbed up to the house, at least until he saw the wards.

Aster grabbed Jack’s hoodie and tugged him back. “Jack. Stop.”

Jack looked back, one eyebrow raised. “Bunny?”

“Somebody wants to keep people away from here. People like _us_.” 

It was strange that the world had enough space for science and magic, something that followed rules and something that followed different rules, but in the Golden Age they’d made it work. And what surrounded the property was the sort of blend of magic and technology that the Constellations had mastered. It was crude, of course, showing only the barest grasp of the principles at work, but the purpose was clear. Oh, it couldn’t keep a Constellation at bay - not a Tsar, at least. And it couldn’t keep either of them out - incarnations of seasons. It could keep out Fearlings, though, and many other lesser spirits. And it was a clear sign to anyone else to keep out.

“Oh, that? Don’t worry. We’re expected. Come on!”

Aster followed Jack, feeling more confused than ever. It was just his luck that taking up with Jack would make the galah even more inscrutable and insufferable. He just couldn’t imagine anyone on Earth with knowledge of Golden Age magitech that Aster hadn’t already met.

Jack rapped at the front door, almost hopping on his toes as he waited for a response. He shot Aster a grin, and Aster had to grudgingly revise his thought. Jack _was_ insufferable, but he did it out of a wellspring of goodwill toward - well, everyone, but Aster especially.

It was still a little big to get his head around, but it did make Aster feel...warm.

Warm and happy.

The door swung open to reveal a teenage girl, wide-faced, dark-haired, bright-eyed, and wide-smiled. Her eyes widened.

“Jack! You’re here!” Her mouth suddenly tugged down as she glanced behind her. “Oh, wait, I wanted to-”

And then a creature, something like a koala mixed with a dog, dyed blue, rocketed past the door, skidding on the floor behind it.

“Soka!” The creature scrambled back into view, and yes, it was still blue, with huge, inverted ears, and a mouth full of crooked teeth.

Aster tilted his head, examining the creature; it tilted its head in the opposite direction to return the favor. There was something about the beast, something familiar. It didn’t look like anything Aster’d ever seen before, but it was...familiar.

“Pooka?” the thing asked, and the realization struck Aster like a blow. The creature didn’t _look_ like a Pooka, not by a long shot, but something about it was achingly familiar, and thinking about it made sense. If any Pooka had survived, yonks ago, there wouldn’t have been enough to keep the species going. And in any case, there’d been half and quarter-breeds back before - before.

“Y - yeah. I’m a Pooka. E. Aster Bunnymund.”

“I’m Stitch!” Stitch rocked back onto his rear legs and reached out a paw, which Aster took gingerly. Stitch had greater strength than his size would suggest, something Aster was certain he’d gotten from the Pooka part of him. “Jumba say...cousins. Ohana.”

“O...hana?”

“It means family,” the girl said. “It means nobody gets left behind...or forgotten.”

The words made a part of his chest clench, and then Aster’s vision went blurry. Time slowed down, not like anything the Styx could manage, but the sort of ordinary magic of existence. By the time Aster realized his vision was clouded by tears, his chest was hitching with sobs and then he couldn’t keep them bottled up any longer.

He’d have been mortified, in any other case, to be sitting on a stranger’s doorstep sobbing like a kit with skinned knees. But it was sort of the point - Aster wasn’t in the same mind as he’d be in any other moment. He couldn’t describe the source of the tears, only that they were coming and wouldn’t stop.

Between wracking sobs, Aster had enough awareness to recognize warmth along both his sides. Jack, he supposed, and...what? He couldn’t work up the energy to worry about it, not so long as his every breath was a recovery from the wounded-animal cry he’d tried hard to keep anyone from every hearing, and so long as opening his eyes was a fight against a flood of tears.

Aster couldn’t say how long he cried, but when he came to, Jack was settled on one side, and Stitch the other. The girl had sat in the doorway, a solemn expression on her face. When she saw Aster look in his direction, she gave him a gentle smile.

“If you’re feeling a little better, you can come inside?”

Aster glanced at Stitch, who had mastered the same wide-eyed pleading look Jack did. It was unnecessary, though; for all that Stitch wasn’t a full-blooded Pooka, he was still kin.

“Yeah, that’d be ace.”

“That’s great!” The girl paused a moment. “My name’s Lilo, by the way.”

Before Aster could manage as much as a ‘nice to meet you’, Lilo all but dragged them inside, sitting Jack and Aster down at her kitchen table, and threw open the refrigerator to scavenge. After a moment, she poked her head out.

“Pleakley, do we have any of that chocolate cake left?”

“Ah-”

“You got anything else? Bunny’s allergic to chocolate.” Jack gave Lilo a charming grin, but before she could respond, a grey-green creature in a black wig, loose dress, and one eye, wobbled into the kitchen.

“I think your little monster ate it last night-” The creature - Pleakley, Aster assumed, froze, staring fixedly at Aster. “ _No_ ,” Pleakley breathed. “You’re not-”

“Pleakley, this is Mr. Bunnymund. He’s the Easter Bunny.”

“You’re a-”

“Pooka, mate. And you can call me Aster.”

“No,” Pleakley insisted. “This is some sort of trick. Or Jumba found his lab somewhere and whipped up another experiment-”

He stopped only because Lilo slapped a hand over his mouth, although his throat worked for a few moments before he stopped trying to talk.

“Oh,” Jack said. Aster shot him a sharp look, but Jack shook his head, biting anxiously at his lip.

“Jackie?”

“He can’t - help how he’s made, Bunny.”

“Can’t help-” Aster swung his gaze back to Stitch, who was clearly only part-Pooka.

_Oh_.

“A bit of a mutt, then, aren’t you?” Aster asked. He reached out and carefully patted Stitch’s shoulder. “House Fritillary always said you had to take this sort of thing seriously, because you were bringing something new into the world. Or in this case, bringing something back.”

Tension seemed to leech out of the room, and Aster was rewarded with a crooked-toothed grin from Stitch. And from Jack…

Something wide, honest, _proud_. And it might’ve been more important to know he’d kept from upsetting Stitch, but seeing _Jack_ proud of him opened up a bloom of warmth in his chest, and he had to restrain himself from grabbing Jack and kissing him right there, in front of Stitch and Lilo and Pleakley.

And then a wide gentleman with four eyes tramped into the room, and Aster’s mind stuttered to a halt. He’d met people who’d arrived on Earth from the worlds beyond, but none of the races blessed to host one of the Constellations.

“You’re a Kweltikwan.”

“And you’re a Pooka. Jumba Jookiba.”

“Aster,” Aster replied, dazed. “But you’re - are you the last?”

“No. Many Kweltikwan on Quelte.”

“Impossible.” Aster stumbled around the table to Jumba, grabbing at the man’s shoulder. “Pitch wiped them all out - not just the Constellations but-”

“Could not say. House Koraadami very wise. Crafty. Not unlike Fritillary. The House dies, but the people live on.”

“Maybe for you. There’s just one Pooka left,” Aster retorted.

“Ah! Two. Well. One and...eighty, ninety percent or so of one.”

“What?”

Jumba rested a proprietary hand on Stitch’s head. “Stitch here is...almost entirely Pooka. Few tweaks here and there for efficiency. But otherwise-”

“Doesn’t matter if he’s one or a hundred percent. He’s still...ohana.” He paused, glancing around the room, and then down at Stitch. “You want to head out and catch a chinwag, Stitch?” He glanced up at Jumba and Lilo. “Just for the arvo.”

“Sure!” Lilo replied. “Go on, we’ll entertain ourselves.”

Aster gave Jack a look back as he followed Stitch out to somewhere the...other Pooka, Frith, thought was suitably private. He’d expected a little disappointment, maybe jealousy, but Jack just watched him with a fond smile, and a hint of something almost smug. As if Jack was just pleased to see Aster so thrown into happy confusion, and knew bone-deep he’d have the time to appreciate it later.


	3. Chapter 3

When Jack made his way to the Warren in the morning, Aster was ready. He’d spent part of his evening preparing to make everything perfect, and he was pretty chuffed about the results.

And because Jackie was a nuisance, and deserved a little grief now and then, Aster was sitting, waiting for Jack when he arrived, giving the bludger a wide grin. It made Jack falter a little as he landed.

“B - bunny? What’re you up to?”

“Ah, I thought since you took the lead on our last few dates, it’s my turn. I packed a picnic basket.”

“A picnic?” Jack’s face twisted a little, but he was smiling. “Very old-fashioned.”

“I told you, I _like_ old-fashioned.” Aster lifted the basket, shaking it gently. “You ready to head out?”

“Oh!” Jack hopped closer to Aster, grinning. “Sure. Where are we going?”

Aster tugged a scrap of cloth from the basket and gave Jack a toothy grin. “It’s a surprise.”

Jack took a hesitant step away from Aster, ice-blue eyes wide as his cheeks darkened a hair. “Ah - can’t I just close my eyes?”

“Not that I don’t trust you, Jackie, but…”

“You don’t trust me.” Jack grinned ruefully and held out a hand. “Go ahead. I’ll take the blindfold.”

“Not a chance, Jackie.” Aster stepped behind Jack, close, and heard a quiet gasp. Aster reached up to wrap the blindfold around Jack’s eyes, knotting it twice before stepping back. “There.”

Jack nodded jerkily; Aster decided to file away that little reaction for later. Right now, he had a nice picnic planned, and that left no time to think about Jack’s reaction to Aster blindfolding him.

“Now, let’s get going.”

“You better not let me walk into any walls,” Jack warned.

“Never, Jackie.”

They moved in silence, mostly. Aster couldn’t run as he might usually, as he was trying to balance the basket with one paw and guide Jack with the other. As a result, they walked through Aster’s tunnels at a leisurely pace. It almost made Aster feel like they were an old married couple, taking a walk through a local park. The domesticity of it left a flutter in his chest, a warmth that kept him cheered even though Jack had fallen silent.

It didn’t take that long, though, to reach their destination. It was a glade out somewhere in, Frith, New York or somesuch, up in the mountains that spanned the whole east of the country. With the seasons tilting into summer, green dominated the landscape, and the air was still a little chill this high up. Aster took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air and the scent of growing things underlaid with the brook dancing down the rocks.

He glanced at Jack, eyes still covered, but head tilted as if he were listening. And maybe he was, learning something about his surroundings from the Wind.

“You can take off the blindfold, Jackie. We’re here.”

Jack ripped the blindfold away; he scanned the world around him in an instant before spinning to face Aster, grinning.

“Nice place you got here, Bunny.”

“It’s not mine, you larrikin.”

Jack shook his head and grabbed the basket away from Aster. “No one else seems to want it. Come on, what’d you pack in here?”

“Give that back!”

Jack, though, who spent more time around kids, wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to play keep-away. Aster grabbed Jack’s waist before he could get properly airborne, and Jack, it seemed, was laughing too hard to make much of an effort to lift both of them. He did twist and wriggle, however, to keep Aster from getting hand on the basket. Just when Aster was about to get some leverage, Jack shoved his face away.

Aster growled, latched a paw around Jack’s arm, and dragged him down into a forceful kiss, catching Jack’s lower lip between his teeth, and, when that earned a gasp from Jack, slipped his tongue past Jack’s lips and tangled their tongues for just a moment.

“B - bunny…”

Aster grabbed the picnic basket from Jack’s lax hand and scrambled to his feet. Jack didn’t react. He was sprawled on the grass with glazed eyes and a faint smile on his lips, shirt bunched up to reveal his pale stomach, still rising and falling to Jack’s heavy breathing. Aster took in the sight, feeling a grin tug up the edge of his mouth. Jack loved teasing him, so seeing the other spirit so affected by Aster was…

Aster started and swung the basket in front of him. Now was not the time to indulge in...physical urges, so he tried to focus on anything other than the enticing sight laid out in front of him.

“Never thought you’d give up so easily, Jackie.”

“Wha-?” Jack’s eyes snapped open and met Aster’s own. And then his face flushed deep violet as he scrambled up, tugging his shirt down past his waist. “You cheated!”

“Never knew you’d get mad at a bloke for breaking the rules, Snowflake. Or get flustered over a little stiffie.”

“Shut up!” Jack glared at Aster, but then suddenly grinned, sly and dangerous. “But you’re right. We’re out here to have a nice day. Why don’t you set up the picnic you made for me?”

“Ah-” Aster felt his skin heat, and flush. “Let’s just set and take in the view for a few minutes.”

“Why? Trying to hide something?” Jack drifted closer, hands behind his back, smirking. He parted his lips, licking them in a way that could be perfectly innocent if it were anyone else. “What could you possibly have to hide from your absolute best friend in the world, who nursed you back from the very brink of death? Who sits up some nights imagining what you could be doing to me if we were in the same bed? Who’s spent hours pretending you were the one touching me?”

Jack made a grab for the basket, sending Aster scuttling back rather than let Jack see what the suggestion of Jack - _masturbating_ to the thought of Aster - did to Aster.

“S - shut up!”

“Why? You worried someone will hear us out in the middle of nowhere? Or does knowing I pleasure myself to the thought of your athletic, naked body upset you?”

There had once been a race of people known as the Gatossa, as much like cats as Pooka were like rabbits, who had mastered a grin that could unnerve a rock.

Jack’s knowing grin was worse. It sent shivers down Aster’s spine, and blood pooling in his groin. He shifted the basket nervously.

“I’m not - you’re - I mean - of _course_ I think-” Aster sputtered out, uncertain exactly how to proceed. He gave Jack a smile, but could feel it was a little shaky. “You’re a - real spunk, Jackie. And I won’t lie...I’ve wanked a time or two thinking about you.” And that earned a welcome flush on Jack’s cheeks. “I’d just like a minute so my dongor’s not hanging out for the whole world to see. _Even_ if you’re the only one here!”

“Oh.” Jack’s grin softened. “Well, I suppose we could wait a few minutes. I’ll even do my best not to arouse you.”

“Buckley’s chance, mate.” But Jack did keep his mouth shut until Aster felt comfortable moving the basket.

Aster spread out the blanket. Jack dropped down on it immediately and patted the space next to him.

“Come on, let’s get this date on.”

Aster snorted and joined Jack before unpacking the basket, a platter of vegetable pasties, a chopped salad, a thermos full of lemonade, and carrot cake.

“No chocolate?” Jack asked.

Aster rolled his eyes. “You _know_ what happens when I eat chocolate.”

“Yeah.” Jack stretched out along the blanket, granting Aster a brief flash of skin. “You get all muscley and hunky.”

“I go into a berserker rage,” Aster corrected.

“Po-tay-to, po-ta-to.” Jack nibbled on a pastie. “But I suppose that’s the sort of thing we can do in private.”

“You’re a menace.” But Aster didn’t push, and they had a few minutes of silence while they both ate.

“Why’d you pick this place?”

Aster shrugged. “Seemed a good compromise between being hundreds of feet in the air and still being able to touch the ground.”

Jack snickered. “Thought it was somewhere special. Familiar, maybe?”

“Nah. Pooka are more...plainsfolk.”

“Was your home a nice place?”

“It was…” Wide-open plains, gentle seas, rolling hills. Aster knew there’d been seasons, but he only ever remembered the warmth of the spring sun. And even though he knew the Pooka had been born on a hostile, violent world, Aster only remembered the peace of his childhood. “I loved it. Australia reminded me of it a lot.”

Jack snorted. “It’s a miracle you people ever survived to go into space.”

“Rack off, it was ace.”

Warmth abruptly pressed against Aster’s side. Arms wrapped around his middle. “Tell me about it.”

“What?”

“Your home. The Golden Age. Whatever.”

“Didn’t live in the Golden Age, Jackie. It was already half-over when I was a kit. More than half of the Constellations were gone by then, and Pitch...was pretty much Public Enemy Number One. Everyone who was able joined the army, and then...there wasn’t much of anyone left.”

The pressure of Jack’s arms increased. “Oh, Bunny.”

“She’ll be right, Jackie. It’s been a long time.”

“How long, exactly?”

“Couldn’t say. Billions, at least. After everything was - rooted - I spent a while on walkabout. And then I came here and just...stuck around.”

Jack hummed thoughtfully. “And sat around being a grumpy bunny for years and years.”

“Not exactly. I was - sad and hurt for a while, Jackie. And there wasn’t much worth talking to for yonks. And then when the monkeys started talking - it was a shock. You lot look like Pitch’s people, and acted...familiar enough that I stayed away. And then some bright bloke discovered the Light of Creation, and I had to keep them from mucking it all up.”

Jack sighed, leaning a little more heavily on Aster, which Aster took as leave to continue.

“The Light of Creation - it’s an echo from the beginning of the universe. I never knew much about - about what it is, but I know it has power, that it has the power of light and life. I hid it in the center of the planet, but it sort of soaked into everything. The people of Atlantis used that power to do - everything, practically. I tried to help them, and it was good for a while. And then…”

“Pitch.”

“I don’t know, really. Fear might’ve had something to do with it, but so did stupidity. They tried to use it as a weapon, and the Light...well, you can use it as a weapon, but only against the Dark.

“And after that...yeah, I sat around being a grumpy bunny for yonks. But enough about my sob story. We only get your past in little tidbits.”

Jack sighed, shifting against Aster. “I...don’t remember as much as you all think I do. I’ve got a lot about my last couple of years, but just...emotions, feelings, before that. I...loved my parents. My sister. They were good people. They...took in a stray, once. A boy who was...lost.” His forehead wrinkled a bit at that. “Cared more about the spirit of the book than the letter. Though my mother could quote chapter and verse if she needed to lay into someone about the importance of being charitable and generous. I think she would’ve liked you. After she got over the seven-foot-tall space rabbit thing.” He looked up at Aster with a fond grin with only an edge of mischief, and Aster’s heart hitched a beat.

“Think she might have a bit to say about me wanting to debauch her son.”

“Hm, well, it’s not worth worrying about now. All that’s important is that _I_ love you.”

“Hm.” The form next to Aster tensed, suddenly; he glanced down, where Jack’s face had gone pale.

“I mean, Bunny-”

“Shut up. You’re a tease and a showpony and I can’t understand why I like you so much. But I do. So don’t sit there and panic yourself into a coronary; I’d hate to find out you take til the solstice to resurrect yourself.” Jack’s panic eased away, and once Aster thought he’d relaxed enough, he bent down to kiss Jack gently. “You alright?”

Jack nodded, but the bridge of his nose and cheeks were still a little dark.

“Well, I think we’ve had enough deep talk for one day. I wanna just sit here a bit.”

“Hm, we _could_ , but I’ve got a better idea.” That wicked smile was back on Jack’s face, and it sent Aster’s nerves jangling.

“What, Snowflake?”

“It’s our third date. Or fourth.”

“Yes?”

“Maybe you don’t know it, it’s an old Earth custom, but-”

“Aw, rack off.” Aster shoved Jack a little, but kept him close with his free arm. “I’m not a root rat, Jackie, counting down to when I can get you into bed. I wouldn’t want to - bed anyone before I knew there was something there. Something special.”

Jack turned his head, burying it in the fur of Aster’s side. “I think you’re pretty special,” he murmured.

“Never said you didn’t, Jackie. Just wanted you to know I didn’t take you to bed because I was supposed to.”

Jack pulled away, his wide grin back, but his eyes a darker, more brilliant blue than usual. “But you do want to.”

“Frith, I do. But let’s get somewhere a little more private first.”

“You’re the one with a bed, Bunny, so let’s get a move on.”

Aster stood among the flurry of Jack packing the picnic away, and took the basket from Jack once he was finished.

“Aren’t we an eager little thing?”

“It’s called enthusiasm, Bunny, and let’s see if you’re still mocking it an hour from now.”

Aster thumped the ground twice to open up a tunnel to the Warren, because he’d have to be thick to turn down an offer phrased like that.


End file.
